Unit 32 Assignment 3 Legal and Ethical

Legal
Copyright this was created 1988 so that people get
credit for their own work and it offers security for their
work. Before copyright was invented, anyone could steal
your work and claim it. It involves copyrighting lots of
multimedia formats, especially online work because it is
out in the open for everyone to see. This applies to
copying software such as songs, videos, text, images,
sound etc. Anything stolen with copyright on it is against
the law and you could be fined. There are types of work that are protected such as;

Literary song lyrics, manuals, computer programs, documents, leaflets, newsletters and
articles, etc.
Dramatic plays, dances, etc.
Musical recordings and score.
Artistic photography, painting, sculptures, architecture, technical drawings/diagrams, maps,
logos.
Sound recording may be recordings of other copyright works, e.g. musical and literary.
Film video footage, films, broadcasts and cable programmes.

When something is copyrighted you cannot copy the work, rent, lent or issue copies of the work to
other people, perform, broadcast or show other people the work, or adapt the work.
Ethical
When you are making a media product you have to take ethical views into consideration, this limits
what you can do or say. The stops racial comments which may offend people or even worse. this
includes;
race (black, white, Asian)
sexuality (get or straight)
disability (not able to walk, mental illness etc.)
nationality (British, Canadian etc.)
class (middle, working or upper)
regionalism (north or south)
age (OAP or child, etc.)
this means that you cannot suggest that one age, race, sexuality and so on is more significant than
others, or that a small group of people can do something but everyone else can.
Privacy
this refers to individual people; their private information has to be protected from people. There are
different privacy laws in different countries. In the UK, as a member of the European Convention on
Human Rights, the United Kingdom adheres to Article 8 ECHR, which guarantees a "right to respect
for privacy and family life" from state parties, subject to restrictions as prescribed by law and
necessary in a democratic society towards a legitimate aim.

Libel Law
Libel is a method of defamation expressed by print, writing, pictures, signs, effigies, or any
communication embodied in physical form that is injurious to a person's reputation, exposes a person
to public hatred, contempt or ridicule, or injures a person in his/her business or profession.
Ofcom
the office of communications is the government regulatory for the UK, they regulate the TV, radios,
telecoms, mobiles and postal services. they do things that include;

the UK having a wide electronic communication service including high speed services like
broadband.
a wide range of high quality television and radio programs, good for a range of people.
people who listen and watch the tv and radio aren't exposed to harmful or offensive material.

people are protected from being treated unfairly in television and radio programmes, and
from having their privacy invaded.

a universal postal service is provided in the UK - this means a six days a week, universally
priced delivery and collection service across the country.

the radio spectrum (the airwaves used by everyone from taxi firms and boat owners, to
mobile-phone companies and broadcasters) is used in the most effective way.

They do not regulate:

disputes between you and your telecoms provider.

premium-rate services, including mobile-phone text services and ringtones.
the content of television and radio adverts.
complaints about accuracy in BBC programmes.
the BBC TV licence fee.
post offices.
newspapers and magazines.

Codes of Practise
COP is a set of written rules which explains how people in a certain line of work should dress and
behave.
This is a document for a skilled worker
file:///C:/Users/s0085425/Downloads/codes_of_practice_april_2015.pdf

this is a document for a social worker file:///C:/Users/s0085425/Downloads/CodesofPracticeforSocialCareWorkers.pdf

Press Complaints Commissions

PCC is a voluntary regulation body for the British newspapers and magazines that are printed. They
represent the major publishers. The annual levy funds the PCC. It has no legal powers and the
newspapers and magazines contribute voluntarily to the costs of the commission, making the industry
self-regulating.

http://www.pcc.org.uk/

Advertising Standards Association

The UKs independent regulatory of advertising for all medias is ASA. The advertising codes apply,
which are written by the committees of advertising practice. They sort out complaints and check the
media and fix the issues with misleading, harmful or offensive adverts.
https://www.asa.org.uk/?gclid=CJ7J-e6IwskCFUi3GwodpMgHwg

British Interaction Media Association

BIMA support and promote the British digital industry, share knowledge and best practice, reward
great work and encourage the next generation.
http://www.bima.co.uk/